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World J Nephrol. Feb 6, 2015; 4(1): 105-110
Published online Feb 6, 2015. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v4.i1.105
Review on renal recovery after anatrophic nephrolithotomy: Are we really healing our patients?
Leonardo de Albuquerque dos Santos Abreu, Douglas Gregório Camilo-Silva, Gustavo Fiedler, Gustavo Barboza Corguinha, Matheus Miranda Paiva, João Antonio Pereira-Correia, Valter José Fernandes Muller
Leonardo de Albuquerque dos Santos Abreu, Douglas Gregório Camilo-Silva, Gustavo Fiedler, Gustavo Barboza Corguinha, Matheus Miranda Paiva, João Antonio Pereira-Correia, Valter José Fernandes Muller, Department of Urology, Servidores do Estado Federal Hospital, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20221-903, Brazil
Author contributions: All authors contributed to this work.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: João Antonio Pereira-Correia, Professor, Department of Urology, Servidores do Estado Federal Hospital, R. Sacadura Cabral, 178-Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20221-903, Brazil. joaoapc@ig.com.br
Telephone: +55-21-964352027 Fax: +55-21-25954976
Received: June 27, 2014
Peer-review started: June 29, 2014
First decision: September 16, 2014
Revised: November 5, 2014
Accepted: November 17, 2014
Article in press: November 19, 2014
Published online: February 6, 2015
Abstract

The main goals for urinary stone treatment are to preserve renal function, reduce or avoid complications related to calculi, and to render the patient free of calculi as soon as possible. Anatrophic nephrolithotomy (ANL) is a valid and useful alternative for conventional staghorn calculi excision. Although excellent stone free rates can be achieved with ANL there are some drawbacks that may be of concern. Morbidity related to intraoperative and postoperative complications is one of them. Another, great concern is the possibility of reduction on renal function related to the procedure itself. This may be related to nephron injury during nephrotomy and parenchymal closure or to ischemic injury. In this review we assess functional results after anatrophic nephrolithotomy.

Keywords: Anatrophic nephrolithotomy, Kidney lithiasis, Kidney stone disease, Percutaneous nephrolithotripsy, Staghorn calculus

Core tip: Anatrophic nephrolithotomy (ANL) is a valid and useful alternative for conventional staghorn calculi excision. Although excellent stone free rates can be achieved with ANL there are some drawbacks that may be of concern. Morbidity related to intraoperative and postoperative complications is one of them. Another, great concern is the possibility of reduction on renal function related to the procedure itself. In this review we assess functional results after anatrophic nephrolithotomy.